Living in the City: Ways to Keep Your Urban Home Safe

 

Living in a city has many perks. You’ll be close to your job, close to restaurants and entertainment, and there’s always something going on. But what about a downside? With so many people living close together, urban areas experience a higher incident of crime. Because of this concentration of people, a burglary is significantly more likely to occur in an urban setting than it is in a more rural one. Luckily, there are some steps you can take to secure your home from any criminals.

 

Urban Burglary

 

As mentioned above, breaking and entering occurs more often in cities than it does in more rural areas. Apartment buildings are particularly susceptible to burglaries, because it’s much easier to avoid looking suspicious in an apartment building where dozens, possibly hundreds, of people live. Burglars can also benefit from the fact that many tenants cannot alter their apartments if they’re renting from a landlord. That means an apartment is less likely to have a sophisticated alarm system or an updated lock on the door. Most burglaries occur during the day, when tenets would be at work, school, or out running errands. While this information may be disconcerting if you live in and rent an apartment, there are also plenty of tips to prevent your home from being a target for a break-in!

 

City shots

 

Safety Tips

 

The best thing you can do that will make the largest impact on your home safety is purchasing a home alarm system, if you don’t already have one. Talk to your landlord, if you rent, and see if you can install an alarm system in the apartment. Once you have the system, place a sticker on the door advertising the company the alarm system is from. This small detail can help tremendously in deterring burglars when they realize your home has an alarm system. Even if your landlord doesn’t let you install an alarm system, simply placing a sticker from an alarm company in a visible location can deter possible burglars.

 

Another piece of advice that can do a lot to protect your apartment is always locking the doors and windows. The front door is the most common point of entry for burglars in urban areas, usually because front doors of apartments in a large building aren’t as secure as those that open to the street. An easy fix for this issue is to install a deadbolt and a sturdier lock. Talk to your landlord before doing so, if you rent your apartment.

 

Finally, an easy way to combat the risk of a burglary is to get to know your neighbors. By learning who lives around you, the entire apartment complex can look out for one another in case there’s any strange activity near your, or someone else’s, apartment. If you’re on pretty familiar terms with your next-door neighbors, they’ll likely recognize the people who regularly come to your apartment. So, if they see a stranger, they’ll be more likely to contact you.

 

Remember to follow these tips in order to best protect your home when living in an urban environment!